The Creative Extinction: How has mankind created the top predator of the art industry?
The recent evolution of artificial intelligence threatens creative industries. Is AI the future of art or should we reclaim our creative individuality?
With a looming deep fake dystopia and artificial music apocalypse, the art industry is the next unsuspecting target of the current AI crisis. AI software such as ‘Artbreeder’ and ‘ChatGPT’ have the capacity to create media unrecognizable to the human eye as the technological forgery it really is. Now these art pieces are reaching the galleries, succeeding the projects and passions of dedicated emerging artists.
Recently in Munich, artist Phillippe Parreno created an immersive exhibition called ‘Voices’ containing a composition of AI media such as short films and landscapes, causing skepticism of the authenticity of contemporary art. Whilst the exhibition is a transformative, inventive addition to Haus der Kunst, critics are questioning the worthiness of the collections success.
Michelangelo’s 16th century Sistine Chapel ceiling took four years of crippling perseverance, and our futuristic art renaissance takes the push of a button. Is that talent?
In the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution, the Global AI Software market is predicted to reach $126 billion by 2025, but in the rapid evolution of cognitive computing, the careers of aspiring artists are left endangered.
Whilst the outcome of AI art may be impressive, the context and meaning of art needs to be considered too. ‘Scientific American’ conducted a survey this September on the significance of an artworks production. The survey resulted in 62% saying they would dislike an art piece more after finding out it’s AI. This is because art is not only visually moving but demonstrates the individuality and expression of man.
Oscar Wilde described it as ‘the most intense form of individualism’, demonstrating the personal experiences and views of man that help to shape art. Abstract thought and complex reasoning make our species unique, so we shouldn’t be creating a future where that is futile.
We can either begin this Darwinian regression of human creativity or take back the imagination, hard work and passion that define our race. It is your choice.
Kersten Davies
